My Swing (summerhunter726)

[summerhunter726]

Well my swing feels pretty effortless for the most part. I just get anxiety looking down tight fairways at times and my body kind of tightens up from that. Thats why some type of "go to" shotcwould help.

[summerhunter726]

Well, im trying to get a better understanding of what the tour pros do. Things look different on tv than they do in teal life. Ive never been to an event. Itd be nice to get insight on how much they curve or work the ball. How far they aim or set up to the left or right to hit certain shots. Higher swing speeds lead to more spin and its harder to hit completely straight a lot of the time in my opinion.

[summerhunter726]

My goals are to be in play in good position off the tee, to hit more greens or to get pretty close to them so i can have an easy chip. My game is hurting in accuracy and chipping . I have the distance so dont really need to work much on getting stronger or longer.

[summerhunter726]

I shoot around 80 in tournaments

[saevel25]

Itd be nice to get insight on how much they curve or work the ball. How far they aim or set up to the left or right to hit certain shots. Higher swing speeds lead to more spin and its harder to hit completely straight a lot of the time in my opinion.

Not very much. Majority of PGA Tour players hit one shot shape. They curve it much less than people think. The thing they might control more often is vertical trajectory. Most PGA Tour players are curving it very little with the short irons. Maybe a few yards with mid irons, a little bit more with long irons. From watching some PGA Tour events with some tight fairways. You can see them curving their drivers at most 10-15 yards. Maybe edge of fairway and curving it back to the middle type of curve.

I've been to Firestone CC to watch them play and that is a pretty tight course. If they curved it a lot then they would struggle greatly with trying to fit a curve against the tree line and hitting the fairway.

No one hits a completely straight shot. It is impossible to predict. Imagine this scenario you have a pin tucked in the back left behind a bunker.

Player A tries to hit a straight ball but misses it left and right. He aims at the pin, he misses it left and he's off the green. He misses it right he's on the green.

Player B hits a draw, at worst he knows he hits slight push as the miss. He aims at the flag. He ends up on the green more often because he knows his miss is a push and aims so at worst he's still on the green.

I would try to work on getting one shot shape you can consistently hit over and over again. Also know a predictable miss. Ideally with a draw you hit a push draw and the miss would be a push.

In the end hitting greens lowers score.

[GHIN0011458]

I shoot around 80 in tournaments

Okay I will clear the air. I am friends with @summerhunter726 and I told him to get on this site. He really averages around 85 in tournaments right now but he is LONG, like 40-50 yards past me. I wanted to get him on here because he asks me so many questions about golf and I thought this would be a good place to get more than one opinion and there is some great stuff on here.

His goal this year is to average 75 from 85. I told him this is somewhat unrealistic and that he should be working on one small thing at a time. He is pretty stubborn but if I could get more than one person backing that information up that it isn't that easy to do then maybe he would start focusing on specifics and the process of getting to 75 average vs just pounding balls all day. I told him to re-post that in here though so that is somewhat my fault. I thought he would delete it off of the "my swing" thread.

The most exhausting thing about working with him is that he isn't focused on specifics. He really feels he needs to be able to hit every single type of shot shape. Low hook all the way to high fade and everyday he is working on something different. I feel like that is counter productive to his success. The guy is very athletic, but he needs help with realizing that while athleticism will help, he needs to start simplifying and working on the foundation. I actually think 5sk would be a very effective way for him to learn.

[Patch]

You are right. Those pro swings you see on TV do not look like the same swings when seen in person. If I were you, and you need help with your putting, and chipping, then search this website, or go to YouTube. Problem is that there is so much information on chipping, and putting available that have to make sure you don't get lost in the maze information. One person will show you one way to do something, and another will have a completely different approach. If you are not careful you could get caught in between the two, which might  cause great frustration on your part.  I might suggest the Paul Runyon way of chipping.

I'd also suggest you look at some course management, books, and/or  videos. A better understanding in this area of the game could make for some easier chipping, and putting. You are miles a head of me in distance, but we basically shoot the same scores in tournament play.

As for hitting straight shots, in my opinion, those are more lucky than not for most folks. I hit a reasonably straight ball, but, it's never truly straight. It looks straight, but it's not. There is always some curve to it.  If you are looking to learn to "shape your shots" like the pros do, then again search this site, or You Tube. Me, I learned to shape shots reading an an old Jack Nicklaus "cartoon" golf book. I became pretty good at it.

Good luck in your journey.

[summerhunter726]

Thats great info and i appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to write that. Ive found that in order for me to get a consistant fade, i have to manipulate the follow through somehow by finishish it shorter ( held off) and higher. I dont feel comfortable holding the club open at address or anyting like that , i always hold it square. For a draw i just try to make a full body turn with my follow through and finish normally i guess. Ive worked a lot with my alignment. I used to stand open at address , not on purpose, it just felt like i was aiming straight but in reality i was aimed left.. Now when im actually aiming straight, it feels like i am in a closed stance or aiming right. But now it lets me make a full turn through my swing without fear of pulling the ball. My fear would always be of pulling or duck hooking the ball, and since my alignment was aimed a little left it would result in a push slice as i guess my body was trying to compensate for the wrong alignment. But any insight on how to manipulate the swing to hit certain shots would be great, or if what i said above makes sense let me know

[summerhunter726]

Thank you for the info and i appreciate the time taken to write it. When i try to hit a fade i try to have a shorter back swing with less body turn as to not get to in to out with my downswing. I also try to have a shorter, held off follow through and finish higher for the faid. For a draw i just have a full body turn in my backswind and a full follow through. My alignment used to be off. What i thought felt like i was aiming straight i was actually aimed a little left. My biggest fear was always hitting a pull or a pull hook, so i would end up hitting a push or a push slice. Now that my alignment is fixed i dont have a fear of hitting a pull or pull hook and can make a full confident turn through the ball. I feel like this will help me be able to lower my scores a lot this year. If anything i said anove about manipulating the swing to hit certain shots made sense or didnt let me know. I really want to develope a "go to" control shot that isnt about distance but more about accuracy when im on a tight par 4

[iacas]

I've only skimmed this thread. I could be way off base.

It sounds like you have a somewhat "natural" or "home built" swing (that doesn't mean it's weird looking or anything like that, just that you haven't had a lot of instruction to this point).

It's going to be really tough for someone like that, if I'm right about it, to work with people online. You first have to build a knowledge base, and then you have to learn who to trust. It's not easy.

I recommend, again if I'm right about all that, finding someone local to take lessons from so you can start to build a bit of a knowledge base that way.

And find yourself an avatar, please. :)

[summerhunter726]

Its not my swing im worried about perse. I dont really have a big miss. I can manipulate my swing to hit different shots and such. The thing im asking about is strategy, and if what im saying makes sense. I hit my 5-pw irons really straight and can curve them if i really manipulate my swing which i can do. Im a long hitter, so if im on a tight par for or 5, if i hit a great drive or great long iron, i can still miss if its just a little offline. Would it make sense to hit like a five iron or 6 iron off the tee to leave like a 200 or 190 yard 7 iron into the green? Do some pros do that? Or do they try to shape a longer club into the fairway. Id go to an instructer if i can afford it, money is tight with me right now. Im just trying to learn the strategies of the game.

[saevel25]

Would it make sense to hit like a five iron or 6 iron off the tee to leave like a 200 or 190 yard 7 iron into the green? Do some pros do that? Or do they try to shape a longer club into the fairway. Id go to an instructer if i can afford it, money is tight with me right now. Im just trying to learn the strategies of the game.

Unless a hole is a big dogleg and the corner is blocked most PGA Tour players do not curve it a lot.  They pretty much hit a slight draw or a slight fade. Controlling that much of a curve is very hard to do.

Most PGA Tour players will hit driver or 3-wood. I doubt many hit irons off of long par 4's unless there is some severe danger left and right. In the end you are at a big disadvantage leaving yourself that far out on par 4's.

I would look into just becoming more consistent in your ball striking. Learn one shot shape you can hit 95% of the time.

[summerhunter726]

Is one shape easier to control than another? Ive heard a fade is much eaier to control but i find that it goes shorter than a straight ball or draw.

[mvmac]

Is one shape easier to control than another? Ive heard a fade is much eaier to control but i find that it goes shorter than a straight ball or draw.

There are players that control it very well hitting draws or fades. Important thing to understand is.....

95% of the shots a pro plays are their stock shot. They don't curve much, but if a player is a drawer of the golf ball, 95% of their shots draw. It's the most reliable, dependable way to play - with a pattern.

[summerhunter726]

Okay, so i went to hit some balls tonight and theres snow on the ground so i had to hit off the mats. I was trying to practice a fade swing with itons , when i try to hit a fade i try to swing more down through the ball and take a good divot. So i cant really swing to down and through on the mat because you cant take a divot so my ball would end up going straight or a slight draw because i would flatten out at the bottom because i was afraid of hitting the ground to hard. So i just ended up hitting draws instead to finish up. Does any of that make sense or am i wrong?

[summerhunter726]

[Video]http://youtu.be/jQqf90l9vrM[/video] Hes aimed pretty far left no?

[summerhunter726]

[Video]http://youtu.be/FjvzHTPKLSs[/video] And aimed pretty right on this one

[Lihu]

Okay, so i went to hit some balls tonight and theres snow on the ground so i had to hit off the mats. I was trying to practice a fade swing with itons , when i try to hit a fade i try to swing more down through the ball and take a good divot. So i cant really swing to down and through on the mat because you cant take a divot so my ball would end up going straight or a slight draw because i would flatten out at the bottom because i was afraid of hitting the ground to hard. So i just ended up hitting draws instead to finish up. Does any of that make sense or am i wrong?

Yes it makes sense, mats hurt if you dig. I am currently having the same digging issue. If you figure it out let me know. My band aide fix is to setup the ball a little further and let the club lie flatter. It doesn't seem to change my direction all that much. If anything it seems to reduce my pulls. It kind of works but idk if its the correct answer or not.